Telephone-transmitter mouthpiece.



M. W001). TELEPHONE TRANSMITTER .MOUTHPIBQE.

APPLIOATIONIIILED MAY 26, 1909.

- Patented Mar. 15,1920.

ANDREI/EU; GRAHAM C9. PHDTO-LITKDORAPNERS, WASHINGTON. D. O.

Cir

EPATNT @FFTQE.

MONTRAVILLE 1VL WOOD, 0F BERWYN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS,

TO W. H. FOLL, OF FREEPORT, ILLINOIS.

TELEPHONE-TRANSMITTER MOUTI-IPIEGE.

952,165. Specification lfitterslatent- Patented Mar. 15, 1918.

Application filed May 26, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MONTRAVILLE M. V7001), a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Berwyn, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Telephone-Transmitter Mouthpieces, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to telephone transmitter mouthpieces andparticularly to means for securing the mouthpiece to the transmitterproper. Prior devices such for instance as that of my prior applicationNo. 465,800 have used screw threads for this purpose, and this method issatisfactory where all of the transmitters to which the device is to beapplied are of a given standard make, but it is a well know fact thatthere are many so called independent telephone companies in the field,all of which use transmitter boxes having their interiors of differentdiameters and threaded with different sizes of screw thread and when acommercial house sells transmitter mouthpieces such as that of my abovementioned application for use in any make of telephone transmitter boxit becomes a serious problem to supply a mechanism by which a givenstandard mouthpiece may be readily attached to any and all forms andvariety of transmitter box upon the market; and the object of thisinvention is to provide such a device which will readily adjust itselfwithin reasonable limits to any size of transmitter box opening andpitch of screw threads therein whereby the given standard mouthpiece maybe attached to any selected transmitter box.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of this typewhich automatically locks itself in the threads of the selectedtransmitter box and it is therefore not readily detachable therefrom.

The invention consists in mechanism capable of carrying out theforegoing objects, which can be very easily and cheaply made, whoseoperation may be readily understood by the ordinary mechanic and whichis satisfactory in operation and not readily liable to get out of order.

The invention further consists in features of construction which will behereafter more fully described and claimed as the specificationproceeds.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a Serial No. 498,444.

central sectional side View of a transmitter case, a transmittermouthpiece and the mechanism of this invention for securing the twotogether, the whole assembled in working position, said view being takenapproximately on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a detail view of theattaching mechanism looking at it from the right of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is adetail plan view of the locking or guard plate used in connection withthe above described parts. Fig. 4 is a view taken on the irregular line44 showing the relative positions of the guard plate and, the mouthpiececarrying member.

Again referring to the drawings, the mouthpiece 10 made of glass, rubberor any suitable material, is preferably provided with an interior flange12 such as is shown, described and claimed in my above mentioned priorapplication for use in this mouthpiece. A mouthpiece carrying member isprovided consisting in the particular embodiment here illustrated of aflat plate member 14 provided throughout its surface with a plurality ofholes 16 through which sound waves may freely pass and provided at itsedge with short projecting spring dogs 18 adapted to engage the inneredge of the flange 12 as shown, and thus by such spring action hold theplate 14 within the mouthpiece 10 in the position shown in Fig. 1 exceptwhen a sui'licientpulling force is exerted upon the mouthpiece 10 toovercome the spring action of the dogs 18 and thus pull the mouthpieceoff from the plate 14 against the action of said spring dogs 18. Thisplate 10 also has extending from it a plurality of flexible springs orarms 20 cut in the tapered lines 22- best seen in Fig. 4 converging inthe outwardly turned fingers 24 adapted to enter the screw threads 26out within the telephone transmitter box or case 28. These fingers 24being upon the ends of the spring arms 20 engage the screw threads 26with some pressure and might be made to serve the purpose of holding themouthpiece 10 in engagement with the transmitter, but in practice it isfound that it only takes a very slight pull upon the transmittermouthpiece 10 to cause these fingers 24 to click over the threads 26 andthus permit the ready removal of the mouthpiece 10, the plate 14 and thearms 20 from the transmitter instead of the mouthpiece slipping over thelocking dogs 18 in the manner described. This is very objectionable forthe reason that repeated removals will wear the threads 26 andultimately render the "attachment of the device to the transmitter box28 impossible.

In order to provide a locking mechanism which will hold these fingers 24in positive engagement with the screw threads 26 and which will do thiseven though the device be inserted in transmitters of different sizes, aplate 30 is provided between the transmitter box 28 and the mouthpiece10, having cut therein a plurality of pairs of locking dogs 32, 34 and36 leaving the ends 38, 40 and -12 of the respective openings in theplate 30, thus formed at different radial distances from the center itof the plate 30, and the width of these dogs 32, 3t and 36, andconsequently the openings in the plate 30 left by their partial removalis also of such a width that the arms 20 may, as best seen in Figs. 1and 4:, descend through said openings a given predetermined distancebefore the angular sides 22 of the arms 20 engage the sides of suchopenings in the plate 30, but that at said point the arms 20 do engagethe sides of these openings and further entry of the arms is impossible.The plate 80 is made of such a material and of such a stiffness andrigidity that when the locking fingers 32, 8st and 36 are formed in it,they will hold substantially their positions illustrated in Figs. 1 and3 without influence by any spring pressure exerted by the arms 20.

The method of application of the device is I as follows: In Fig. 1 isshown a relatively large size transmitter box 28, and consequently inthis particular case the arms 20 are inserted through the openings inthe plate 30 adjacent to the locking fingers 32. The operator thenplaces the plate 30 with the arms 20 thus inserted adjacent to the openend of the transmitter box 28 and by rotating the plate 1a. and attachedarms 20 causes the fingers 24k to travel around the screw threads 26 andthus through the plate 30 in the direction of the arrow 2 in Fig. 1.\Vhen this operation is continued a given distance the inner faces ofthe arms 20 engage the locking members 32 as shown in F ig. 1, and arethereby sharply forced into more intimate contact than that heretoforeexisting with the threads 26 and after slightly passing the position ofFig. l are so rigidly held in position by the fingers 32 that removal ofthe members 24 from engagement with the screw threads 26 is impossiblewithout absolutely stripping the threads 26. hen the plate 1-lhas thusbeen attached to the transmitter box 28 the operator takes themouthpiece and slips it over plate 1% to the position shown in Fig. l.The mouthpiece may be removed by pulling it 01f against the action ofthe dogs 18 in the manner described. When it is desired to attach thedevice to another transmitter than that shown, having a smaller diameterof opening, the operator takes the plate 30 and ascertains byexamination whether the dogs 34 or 36 will most readily serve thepurpose of locking the arms 20 in engagement with the threads of thisnew transmitter and having selected the proper dogs as for instance thelocking members 36, he by hand springs the arms 20 into the openingsleft by these dogs 3st and the plate 30 and adjacent to the walls 40thereof and then inserts the device in the same manner in this smallertransmitter. It will be noticed that the tip of the arms 20 combineswith the links of the locking arms 32; 34: or 36 as the case may be, toprevent a too energetic operator forcing the device to such a greatdistance within the transmitter that the fingers strip the screw threadswithin the transmitter.

The claims are:

1. In mechanism of the class described, the combination of a plate,means for detachably attaching a transmitter mouthpiece thereto, andarms projecting from said plate of such a length as to extend beyond theend of the mouthpiece attached to the plate, and means for detachablyconnecting such extending ends of the arms to recesses within atransmitter box or case to which the device is to be applied.

In mechanism of the class described, the combination of a memberprovided with means for detachably securing it to a transmittermouthpiece, arms upon said member capable of normally extending beyondthe position of a mouthpiece applied to said member, projecting portionson said arms adapted to enter recesses within a transmitter box or case,and a supplemental plate adapted to be interposed between the firstmentioned device and the transmitter box or case, said plate beingprovided with mechanism engaging said arms and locking them inengagement with the interior of the transmitter box or case.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a memberprovided with means for detachably securing a transmitter mouthpiecethereto, arms upon said member extending beyond the end of a mouthpiecewhen it is attached to said member, and also adapted to enter and engagedepressions in the interior of a transmitter box or case, a plateadapted to be inserted between the transmitter box or case and amouthpiece upon said first mentioned member, there being openings insaid plate through which said arms extending from the first mentionedmember pass, and locking members carried by the plate and engaging theinterior portions of said arms adapted to lock the arms in engagementwith thetransmitter box or case, said arms being bent out from thematerial of the plate.

4. In mechanism of the class described, a perforated fiat plate adaptedto be inserted within and across the end of a mouthpiece, means forretaining said plate in the mouthpiece in said position, arms extendingfrom said plate and of a suflicient length so that they extend outsideof the mouthpiece when it is applied to said plate the opposite ends ofsaid arms being adapted to enter and engage depressions in the interiorof the transmitter box or case, a spring plate adapted to be insertedbetween the first mentioned plate and the transmitter 100:; or case,having openings therein through which said arms pass, and memberscarried by said plate engaging said arms to force them into engagementwith the transmitter box or case.

5. In mechanism of the class described, the combination of a memberadapted to be inserted within and detachably secured Within atransmitter mouthpiece, fiaringly extending arms on said member havingoutwardly turned ends adapted to engage a recess within an adjacenttransmitter case or box, a supplemental plate adapted to be insertedbetween the transmitter and the mouthpiece carried by said member, saidplate being provided with a plurality of members at different radialdistances from the center of the second mentioned plate, adapted to beselectively engaged by the arms upon the first mentioned member, for thepurpose of locking said arms in engagement with transmitter boxes orcases of selected different internal diameters for the purposesdescribed.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presenceof two witnesses.

MONTRAVILLE M. lVOOD.

WVitnesses DWIGHT B. CHEEVER, C. J. CHRISTOFIEL.

